


Following Instincts

by CanuckleheadCowgirl



Series: The 906 Universe [4]
Category: Avengers, X-Men
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Gen, Second Gen X, X-Kids - Freeform, X-men - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-01-06 22:58:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18398090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanuckleheadCowgirl/pseuds/CanuckleheadCowgirl
Summary: Welcome to the *new* V4 of my 906 Universe where we'll follow the Howlett kids as they grow up at the institute - and hit all the high points and lows that come with the stresses of being the kids of the X-Men.  We pick up right where volume three left off (more or less) and will follow the kids as they grow up around the X-Men and Avengers alike.





	1. Chapter 1

Jean had just kissed Scott for a short farewell after coffee had ended and the two had parted company for the morning. He didn't have classes yet, as class hadn't yet started at Xaviers, but he'd promised to help Charles prepare for the upcoming semester as always, so that left Mrs. Summers to take a little time to herself while Rachel stared up at her giving her the biggest, roundest puppy dog eyes that nature had ever created.

She'd been like this for weeks now - ever since Logan and K had scooped up their little trio of trouble and disappeared to who knows where. It was never any problem for Rachel to find something to do when the Howlett kids were there. It seemed that all three of them loved her just as much as she loved them. So when they were gone, Rachel definitely felt left out. Even if she did have little Michael Rasputin to play with most of the time. But there wasn't much Jean could  _do_ about it that she wasn't already doing.

The two of them had gone to the movies, been swimming almost every day … she'd taken Rachel to ride the ponies that K had picked out for the kids though that might have been a bad idea since Rachel kept staring at the little pony the twins used and looking sad with little sighs.

So when little James rocketed into the kitchen ahead of the rest of the family - grinning and out of breath, Rachel beat Jean to the punch when she let out a little squeal of delight and rushed over to give him a hug. The two of them were giggling hard- especially when Rachel accidentally toppled James over. Rose caught up mistaking the hug for a dogpile on James. Which it exactly what it turned into..

Jean readjusted how she was seated and turned to watch as Abbey came in much quieter and calmer, though she was still skipping with her little pigtails swinging until she climbed up on Jean's lap and gave her a hug.

"Hi Auntie Jeannie," Abbey said, curling up with her.

"Hi, little sweetpea," Jean replied, snuggling up. Abbey had always been a unifying force for the whole of the mansion from the day she was born, and no one in the mansion could argue that fact. "Did you have fun on vacation?"

"Uh huh," Abbey said before she slipped back down and headed over to steal an apple from the bowl of fruit nearby.

Jean was watching her, smiling to herself when before she could even lift her gaze to greet K - the little feral stopped dead in her tracks and had dropped her coffee mug - shattering it on the hardwood floor. Jean looked up in alarm - she couldn't recall K dropping  _anything_ like that in the time that she'd known her … but here she was, one hand over her mouth in what Jean thought was  _horror_ as she stared at Jean … and looked as if she might just  _cry_. Which only had Jean that much more alarmed. "K-"

"Oh my God," K said, cutting her off with a shaking, quiet voice, approaching slowly, though a moment later, Jean had to frown when she saw that K was  _smiling_ as she dropped her hand away from her mouth. " _Oh my God._ "

"What is wrong with you?" Jean said, frowning at her deeply.

"Nothing!" K said, wide eyed as she dropped her jacket across the back of one of the dining room chairs and then half-tossed her key onto the table … as she made the last few steps closer to wrap her arms around Jean in a tight hug. "Nothing is wrong at  _all_."

"Then why are you -"

"You need to go see Hank," K said, pulling back from the hug just enough to look Jean in the face. "Unless you've talked to him already."

"What … " Jean's eyes went wide as she stared back at K - and a moment later, she dove into K's mind to double check her suspicions. "Oh my God."

"That's what I said!" K laughed then pulled a still  _very_ shellshocked Jean back into a tight hug. "Go … talk to Hank. I'll keep an eye on Rachel."

"Yes. I just … I mean … oh ... " her smile fell as she turned to look down the hallway. "Scott's with Charles."

"I'm sure he'll meet you down there before you know it."

"But they were planning-"

 _Crash_!

The doors to Charles' office banged open as Scott burst out of it, already running down the hall to where Jean and K stood - wide eyed under the red lenses, but still unable to stop the grin he'd been trying to keep in check since Jean had quit projecting images of Rachel kissing James on the cheek. "Are you sure?" Scott asked in a breath.

"You doubt me?" K challenged. "Go. Find out from him if you need to hear it that way to believe it."

The two Summers shared a look, and Scott tipped his head as he caught her line of thinking. "Jean, you don't need to-"

"Yes I do," she said, picking both of them up telekinetically, though as soon as they were off the ground, Scott pulled her over to put his arms around her as she levitated them much faster than they'd have walked down to the elevator.

"They silly," Rachel said, giggling with one hand over her mouth before James tackled her with a kiss - kicking off a fresh peal of laughter among the under five crowd.

"Probably where you got it from, sunshine," K said as she watched the little ones playing and laughing on the floor.

Jean and Scott made their way to the lab- excited and anxious all at once. The two of them had been trying for Summers baby number two as soon as Jean had healed up all the way from Rachel … and though it had been a couple years, they hadn't been too stressed out about it just because they'd discussed it so often … the plan was in place. Try for a second, and if nothing works - adoption. There were plenty of mutant kids that needed homes  _and parents_ , after all. But Jean had quit keeping track of everything. Rachel was at an age where she needed a lot of attention, and when the other kids were around, Jean was more than happy to step in and step up as main babysitter. Which meant she just didn't have  _time_ to wonder if the time was right or not.

So if K was right - and if they'd managed to get pregnant  _on their own_ without watching the calendar or finding out from one of the ferals that it was time to get going … the two Summers shared a look before they pushed open the lab doors - grinning widely at each other.

"She wouldn't joke about this, right?" Scott asked, his hand on the door.

"K? Never," Jean promised.

"Didn't think so, but still …"

Jean stepped closer and popped up on her toes to steal a kiss - that became a lot more heated and lasted a whole lot longer than what she'd anticpated.  _Mr. Summers -_

_Mrs. Summers …_

_Let's go find out about baby Summers._

Scott grinned wider and the two of them stepped in to see Hank, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling - his computer going on one screen and a stack of notes half scattered across his desk as Mozart played at a soft tone in the background. "Oh my stars," Hank said before he smiled at the two of them from his upside down perch. "What brings two of my favorite people to my humble abode on this fine morning?"

"I need you to run a test, Hank," Jean said - and with a flourish, Hank dropped from the ceiling, flipping halfway through to land on his feet.

He straightened himself up importantly and adjusted the lapels on his lab coat as he cleared his throat. "So you're stepping into the possibility of intervention, then?" Hank asked.

Jean frowned and Scott tipped his head slightly - clearly there was a crossed wire between them. "I think … we're not on the same page," Scott said.

"No, Hank, I need a blood test. I just saw  _K_  -"

"And you're seeing where you are in your cycle, yes, smart to double check. She may have just been pushing you to fool around seeing as Logan's still at the tower with Captain Rogers."

"Wait, what?" Scott said, as Jean stepped forward. She did not want baby news to be railroaded by Scott's concerns over Logan and his infidelitous team loyalties.

"No, Hank …  _Henry_ ," Jean said, defusing Scott and redirecting a concerned looking Beast. "She told me I needed to get checked to see how far I already  _am_."

Hank stared at her for a moment then gently set his glasses on the bridge of his nose as if he needed to see her better to do the job she'd asked him for. "It must be early," Hank said quietly, brushing by Scott entirely to gently take Jean's arm and guide her to take a seat. "Because I can't smell any change at all."

Jean's heart leapt into her throat. There were a few reasons that Hank couldn't smell it. For one, she might not be long enough into it for him to be able to catch it - Logan and K far outstripped him in that area, after all. But it could also be that she'd  _been_ pregnant for a few weeks and lost it - and the possibility had Jean's heart racing. "Can you please confirm that she's right? Please, Hank."

"Of course," he replied, turning to gather the supplies to run a few tests.

Scott had gotten the whiplash from that little scenario  _hard_. He'd been fighting with Logan for months now about how much time he was spending with the Avengers - and as much as Scott wanted to be a father and a family man, he couldn't do that properly without someone he trusted to step up and help more with  _their_ team. So Logan spending more time with  _Captain Rogers_ was honestly cause for alarm. Especially if K was right and Jean was pregnant.

He pushed his already growing stress down, his jaw locked down tightly already. If that's what it was going to be - so be it. He couldn't let Logan get to him.  _This_ … this was what Scott had wanted his whole life, long before he even met Charles Xavier. A family -  _his_ family. And he wasn't about to shelve that for anything. He reached over to take Jean's hand, then kissed the back of it, smiling at her while Hank started running the blood tests. This was more important than everything else.

Jean was anxious and she gripped onto Scott's hand like a lifeline, and though they knew the first test Hank was running was going to be a quick one, his declaration of 'Congratulations' still felt muted when it was followed up by "I'd like for you to come back tomorrow so I can compare the levels of hormone in your bloodstream."

"So there's no way to tell for sure yet, is there?" Jean asked, holding her breath as her shoulders drifted closer to her ears.

"You're not very far into it," Hank said. "So I think the best way to know for sure will be to check the levels." He gestured to the vials in the rack. "I won't have the results on your levels now, but if I test you tomorrow at close to the same time, they should double or more."

Jean nodded. "Alright. I can work with that. Twenty four hours. Great."

 _Honey_ , Scott projected, squeezing her hand.  _It'll be okay._

_I know. Of course it will. I just …_

_Really want this to happen._

_Yes. So much._

Scott smiled at her and then leaned over to kiss her cheek.  _K's watching the kids, right?_

_Yeah …_

_So we should step out for a little bit and make sure you stay relaxed and happy, right? It's best for the baby, after all._

Jean tried and failed to stop the smile.  _Were_ you  _keeping track, because I wasn't._

 _No,_ Scott admitted.  _I was just … rolling with it._

_You know they were trying too -_

_Might explain why she was almost crying for you._

_I don't think so,_ Jean said, looking thoughtful as they walked out of the lab and headed up to his car.  _Whenever she's been pregnant, she's always got a stress level going on and she actively blocks me. That wasn't what was going on._

Scott smiled to himself as he watched Jean. Her shoulders were relaxing and her whole body language had shifted to something far less tense and worried. He doubted that she realized how much she relaxed when she focused on  _someone else_ 's problems.  _So what do you think_ is  _going on?_

Jean frowned.  _With those two? It could be anything, really. They were gone for over a month. I know they went to spend some time with Mac and Heather Hudson-_

Scott stiffened up on hearing that. Something else to add to the things Logan really didn't need to be doing just then.  _He still want Logan back?_

Jean shrugged.  _K didn't make it sound like it was anything to even consider, but she did say that Claire and Abbey were getting along well enough._

Scott frowned at that.  _The Hudson's daughter, right? I don't think we've met her._

_No. they keep her close to home. I don't thinks she's met anyone in the business outside of Alpha Flight. Well … and Logan and K, now._

Scott's frown deepened for just an instant, but he shook it off. That wasn't what he was trying to do right now. He was trying to keep her from being frustrated, not … worry about what every other damn team in North America was doing to catch Logan's attention.

He held the door to his car open for her with a crooked smile that had her blushing at him. "May I take you out to lunch, Mrs. Summers?"

"I'd be delighted, Mr. Summers," Jean replied with a grin, and for the time being at least, the two of them redirected their focus to  _each other_ for the next several hours.

* * *

K had gathered the kids up and taken them out into the backyard for a picnic, meanwhile. Rachel had been excited to see them, of course, but she missed having fun with the Howlett kids, and in no time flat, K had stretched a blanket out on the grass under the shade of one of the biggest trees on the property and the kids were setting out their fare. The kids all had their own ideas on what they wanted to do, though. Rose wanted to color and James wanted to play tag or do something a little more mobile than just sit around.

But since she was the one that was odd kid out, K let Rachel pick, and Rachel had excitedly gotten K to bring out both a pitcher of lemonade and an empty teapot and all the cups and saucers for the group of them - because she'd had plenty of tea parties with her mother when they were gone and she really wanted to share that with the Howlett kids.

Abbey knew what was going on right away and dove in to help the littler kids - even making sure that James knew to  _behave_ for the tea party part of it, and to K's entertainment, the little guy sniffled, rubbed his nose and then straightened right up as he watched the girls fussing around him.

"No, you can't help, James," Abbey said. "You gotta wait."

"Wanna help," James said, crossing his arms and scrunching halfway in on himself.

K let out a sigh, but didn't intervene. This was  _one_ problem that was pretty rampant. The little girls outnumbered the boys … and as a result, it often ended up being split on who played with who, but Rachel was constantly pulling James in to play with her, so he often got swamped by Rachel and his sisters. And stuck following their rules. Which wasn't a problem most days … but when he'd already been cooped up in the car for  _hours_  and stuck with all girls for the whole of the family vacation … it wasn't going to end well.

The tea party started out alright, but both Rachel and Abbey were insisting, as usual, that James play by their rules. And for a little guy, he was doing pretty well, though when Abbey got pushy on making him say 'please' when it wasn't even something for  _him_ , he crossed his arms and simply threw himself backward on the grass.

"Don't  _like_ this," James said and when Abbey got up and tried to push him into sitting up, he climbed to his feet and just started to  _run._

" _James!"_ Abbey shouted, sounding both exasperated with her little brother and angry for not playing along.

"No!" he shouted over his shoulder, running for the barn - until K let out a shrill whistle that James knew not to argue with. He turned just as Abbey tried to reach out and grab him, but by that time both Rachel and Rose had gotten up to give chase too - which was how the three of them ended up trying to catch James.

There were lots of screams and squeals as the tea party changed into tag, which K had to chuckle at since this … was actually what James had been after since the beginning. It was just luck that it seemed to have fallen the way he wanted it to. Especially because it seemed to be so rare.

K glanced down to look at the clock on her phone, frowning to herself as the kids giggled and played. She knew Logan was being held back by Steve to talk … but for as long as it was taking, it was either very good or very bad - and she wanted to know which way things were falling.


	2. Test Results

 

Logan took his time getting back to Westchester. He needed the time to think it over, and he didn't want to rush his answer to Steve. For years, Logan had been part of the Avenger's team, but now, they were branching out and considering Logan's experience working with the younger crowd, Steve was asking him to take on something more … for a younger crowd of hopeful Avengers. It was a lot to ask, really. In addition to the X-Men, Logan was on two Avengers teams, taught at the school, dabbled in X-Force when the need arose - though that was rare while he had his family to account for - and now Steve was asking him to take on a second teaching position too?

That wasn't even figuring in the fact that once again, Mac was pushing for him to come home and he absolutely did not like it when Logan told him that he was home. In Westchester.

When he finally pulled in, he was surprised to have followed Scott and Jean up the drive, and he frowned as he watched them. Especially when Scott waited for him to get out of the Jeep as Jean went in ahead of him. "Hey, Slim," Logan said as he got out, slamming the door shut behind him.

"So what's the story with Captain America?" Scott asked. "Hank said you were caught up there."

"He's askin' a favor, I'm thinkin' it over."

Scott nodded at that. "What kind of favor? Or is this some complicated poker night?"

To Scott's dismay, Logan didn't blow it off as a joke right away, and instead, he stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "He's lookin' for someone to do some evaluations, I think. Trainin' program for new team members. They're a little concerned their team is spread thin with all the crap goin' on with Hydra right now." Logan shrugged and waved it off as much as he could. "Told him I had to think about it."

Scott pursed his lips and his jaw locked down a notch tighter, the muscle near his ear flexing from years of overuse at moments just like this. "K kinda set Jean on a panic attack when she came in," he said, though he was quick to hold up one hand. "Nothing bad. Just ... " Scott couldn't stop the smile in spite of his other concerns. "We're having Hank double check tomorrow, but …"

"Yeah, I can smell it," Logan agreed, nodding. "Why didn't you have Hank look into it today if K was your early alert?"

"We did," Scott said, frowning at how the subject matter was so easily switched, especially when Steve thought  _his_  team was stretched thin. "It's … a little complicated. We just need to make sure it's all on track. But that's not ... " Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath.

He'd  _meant_  to tell Logan that he needed to focus on the school with Scott. He'd  _meant_  to tell him that Cap was perfectly capable of doing his own training program and that the kids of Xaviers were more in need of his expertise than any new recruits Cap could find … but instead all that came out was: "I'll talk to you tomorrow after we have a better idea of what's going on with Jean and the baby." But even on saying it, Scott was frowning deeper because he knew that wasn't entirely true. If things were on track, he'd need Logan to step up, and if things weren't on track - he'd still need Logan to step up while Scott took care of Jean and the wreckage that would most definitely follow a  _confirmed_  loss.

"Sounds like plan seven thirteen," Logan said off handedly, and Scott shot him a dry look, but didn't really have his heart into starting up anything. Not right now.

The two men were quiet as they headed into the house, and when they got there, their wives were chatting quietly between themselves and the kids looked absolutely worn. All four of them were half-dry and wrapped up in towels - either from swimming or running around in the sprinklers - and James and Rose were sharing a towel and looking as if they were on the verge of nodding off together. The two of them were holding hands - and as always, James was on the left. The twins had always chosen to curl up together like this - and they always held hands the same way when they were close enough to do so - not quite the same as most people did … and it was apparent that it was entirely subconscious and more common when they were tired.

"They shared a bunk all vacation, didn't they?" Jean asked as she watched the twins nodding off.

"You know they did," K agreed, watching her little ones as they leaned against each other. James had his head on Rose's shoulder and she had hers resting on his head. And Abbey was doing her level best to make sure Rachel was comfortable to Rachel's absolute delight.

K turned to Jean and gave her another hug. "Just stay calm. I know it isn't the same as hearing it from a doc, but … you'll do just fine."

"I'll still feel better once we're far enough to hear the heartbeat," Jean said, though at that, K nodded seriously.

"So … maybe just a few weeks then," K said as she picked Rose up and let her settle into her shoulder while Jean did the same with Rachel and Logan picked up James. Abbey of course, looked up at Scott and waggled her eyebrows - exactly the move Scott needed to break out of his headspace - and a moment later, he'd tossed her up into the air to her delight and caught her in a bear hug that he needed just as much as Abbey wanted.

"We can hope," she agreed - leaving the Howletts and the Summers walking in relative silence down to their suites- across the hall from each other. It didn't take long to get the kids settled in - and Abbey was sure to make the rounds giving kisses to both the Summerses and her siblings before it looked as though she'd finally run out of steam. As soon as the doors were closed in the Howlett's suite, Logan told K what was going on with Steve and his request.

"You want to do that?" K asked.

Logan shrugged. "Pretty sure it's just a matter of getting it set up for 'em … can't hurt."

"Where are they going to have this training center?"

"I don't know. One of Stark's places, I'm sure. Have to wait an' see." He drew in a breath and held it for a moment as he pulled her over - and then let it out in a rush. "I don't wanna talk about that right now. I'm already on two Avengers teams, the X-Men, X-Force, and teachin' here too ..."

"Poor sweet Wolverine," K teased. "Everyone wants you around."

"Yeah, yeah." Logan smirked. "Too bad I got just one place I wanna be."

"And Mac-"

"Let Mac drop," Logan said with a growl, frowning seriously as he pulled her over. "Just drop it."

K smirked and nodded once, simply diving right into a whole string of stolen kisses. It was rare enough that he didn't want to talk about something with Steve … the fact that he was trying to put it off was proof positive to K that he wasn't sure if he wanted in on things. But the sense of obligation that he continually put on himself was substantial, and K was sure it would just be a matter of time before he admitted that he had real trouble telling Steve 'no' just like he had real trouble turning down Scott when he finally spoke up and asked for help.

And since the kids were all sleeping … there was no reason that either of them could come up with on why they couldn't steal away for a little bit.

* * *

Scott was anxious that night, and though he encouraged Jean to rest ahead of the appointment with Hank, Scott did  _not_  sleep much at all. It wasn't that Rachel was being fussy … if anything, when Rachel had woken up a little while after having fallen asleep and wanted to snuggle with them, it had  _helped_  Jean settle in and sleep herself. But Scott couldn't stop watching Jean as she was curled around Rachel.

The image was a beautiful one that he wanted to commit to his memory permanently. Jean's face was perfectly peaceful, her chin resting on the top of Rachel's messy loose curls as Rachel tucked into her mother. Their little girl was using Jean's arm like a pillow - which really only made it that much easier for Jean to wrap herself entirely around Rachel as she curled up on her side clutching tightly to the one little girl they  _knew_  wasn't going anywhere.

As he watched them, he couldn't stop the muted smile and the moment that Rachel let out a contented sort of sigh, Scott found himself trying to relax a little more.

Yes, their plan had always been to have more than one, and yes, he wanted more … but if this was their only natural born child between them … he wouldn't say he didn't ache for another one … but the little girl tucked between them on the big bed was such a blessing in her own right, he simply couldn't imagine life without her anymore.

Scott turned on his side to face them, and after a moment, he reached over to rest his hand on Jean's arm - joining the two of them as he kept them both in contact. Jean shifted in her sleep - not much, but just enough to draw his attention. She picked her head up partway and smiled sleepily an instant before Rachel pushed away from Jean partially - and rested one hand on Scott's cheek before she let out another sweet little sigh and settled in - one hand on each of her adoring parents.

Scott turned his head slightly to kiss Rachel's palm .. though at that, he felt his eyelids growing heavy.

Of course, the alarm went off not even three hours later and after the initial shock of it, Scott's heart leapt as he realized … _just a few hours until we go see Hank._

The usual morning routine went by in a blur … Scott could hardly remember how it was that they got from point A to B, let alone hat the joke was between Rachel and the twins when they left with K to give Jean and Scott some room. Which was good because neither of them were able to carry on a conversation at all. They rushed to the lab - in the same daze that they'd been in since they woke up, ignoring all outside sources aside from Hank as he wordlessly drew Jean's blood.

Jean held her breath as they waited for the blood tests to come back - and that's all it really was, too. Blood tests to measure the hormone levels. It felt so clinical and even though there was little warmth in the methods used, neither Summers wanted to leave the lab empty handed.

"This might take some time," Hank warned. "I'm afraid I can't rush the test."

"I'm afraid I can't leave until we know," Jean said, with Scott nodding alongside her.

"I know, but you could wait in a more comfortable place."

"Yeah, no I don't think so," Jean said, her leg bouncing as she waited. Hank looked over the top of his glasses at her but did not try to tell her to relax. Not when she was so tense, and not when he could clearly see the flames flickering in her gaze and the air around her shimmering slightly from the heat coming off her flames.

But just when Hank was sure he would need to tell her to get a handle on it, Scott spoke up.

"You're hot, Mrs. Summers."

She scoffed, totally misinterpreting things for a moment. " _Scott_."

"Well, yeah, like that too, you're definitely hot, but I meant you're hot. You're slipping sweetheart."

Jean blinked as she realized how much the phoenix was simmering below the surface then shook her head to focus before she managed to draw back the heat. "Sorry ... I just -"

"No, I'm hopeful," Scott said. "The last time you let it go like that, you were carrying Rachel."

Jean stared at him for a moment then let out a nervous laugh before he pulled her over to steal a long kiss.  _I just don't want to go until I know for sure._

_I know. But you need to relax or you're going to set off the sprinklers - and ruin your blood sample._

Jean smiled at that and kissed him again - though they didn't get too far into it before Hank cleared his throat.

"Mr. and Mrs. Summers," he said, though his tone was even and clinical. "The results are in."

Both Scott and Jean held their breath as they waited for him to continue.

"You'll need to start taking your vitamins and drink plenty of water," Hank said, smiling. "As it stands right now … congratulations are in order."

A second or two passed before Jean and Scott turned toward each other with a broad grin and she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck to hold on tight as Scott grinned and Hank continued his usual spiel on what to expect … but all of that was lost on the Summers when all they could even think was a general feeling of 'finally' between psychic flirts of "Mr. Summers, you're going to be a father" and "Mrs. Summers, I already am" and a whole lot of kissing and growing excitement.

It was just what they needed - and thankfully, for Logan, Scott was wrapped up enough in his good news with Jean that he simply couldn't focus enough on anything but the fact that they were going to have another baby.

As Scott floated in his own good news - because they weren't going to tell anyone that didn't already know until after they'd gotten out of danger - Logan quietly answered a few texts under the table where no one could see.

Steve wanted an answer, and he was pretty clear he wanted all of the Avengers to contribute in one way or another. So while Jean and Scott were psychically flirting and grinning to each other, K looked over Logan's shoulder to read the last few texts.

Logan looked up at her in silent question, and K leaned forward to kiss him as her opinion on the matter. With a nod, Logan quitely responded with a simple _I'm in_. He was banking on the fact that he hadn't illustrated what he was willing to do, or how much he was willing to put into it, but he would do what he could.

Of course, what Logan thought Steve was going to ask for and what Steve planned to ask weren't necessarily in line with each other.

* * *

Scott and Jean had taken a day to quietly celebrate, still cautious, but also so distracted by their news that anything even resembling focus on other things was impossible.

In contrast, Logan had been spending a lot more time than he thought going back and forth with Steve on getting things rolling on the Avengers' new training program. Before Steve could really get rolling, Logan did make a point to tell him he didn't want to be on staff for whatever this was.

 _It's all in the planning phases right now_ , Steve had replied - which was enough to get Logan to relax.

At least … he was relaxed all the way up until Scott finally took a seat with a cup of coffee and his smile slipped. "Alright, so Hank told me a little bit this morning about what Captain Rogers has in mind."

"You were talkin' with Hank about what Cap's got goin' this morning?" Logan asked, looking honestly surprised.

"We had an early chat before coffee. And as I understand it," Scott glanced at K, who smiled his way. "You were sleeping in."

Logan nodded at that. "Recovery," he said without missing a beat.

"You needed recovery time after your month away …"

"No, he needed recovery time after I got done with him," K said. "Read between the lines a little."

Scott couldn't exactly stop it as he smirked her way. "Right. What was I thinking?" He shook his head and turned back to Logan. "I'm going to need to know what's happening with this new training program with the Avengers."

"Why, you wanna join up?" Logan asked dryly, which of course, only set Scott on edge.

"No -"

"It's for kids, Scott."

"I know. But we have a ton of kids here that want to be X-Men that you're barely around to deal with."

"Hey," Logan said, narrowing his eyes. "I show up when an' where I'm supposed to, don't I?"

"Most of the time," Scott shot right back. "But if you want more time dealing with training kids, I know our junior squad would love it."

"You sure about that?" Logan challenged. "Seems to me every time I try to make 'em do something it's a bitch-fest. Like pushin' a damn rope."

"So what? You just need to hear it from a bunch of non-mutant teenagers too?"

"Woah, woah, woah, easy big fellas," K said, holding up both hands. "Both of you need to throttle it back a little bit. No one's talking about another teaching position right now."

"You sure about that, K?"

K frowned and looked between them before answering slowly. "From what Logan has told me? And factoring in that he has a family that he likes to be around - yeah. Pretty sure."

Scott held her gaze for a long moment then let out a breath. "Alright then." The three of them simply stared at each other for a moment before Scott got up. "Then I guess I'll see you two at team practice. Jean won't be joining us in the Danger Room."

"For as anxious as she is right now?" K shook her head. "Good. Let her call the shots from the booth."

Scott paused. "That's not what I -" K tipped her head and blinked at him slowly. "- right. Good idea. See you for practice later."


	3. Sowing The Seeds

Practice with Jean at the helm was a lot less different than the team had expected - likely because she and Scott were in constant contact all the time anyhow and any time that Jean found herself unsure of a direction, she could easily cheat and use Scott's knowledge and exhaustive list of plans and options with a thought.

But it was enough to keep Scott happy. She was out of the way - safe - and keeping an eye on the group in a way that was next to impossible unless one was in an elevated position. And she could still very easily keep the team in close contact with a telepathic link up.

To Scott's surprise though, Logan was  _still_ questioning Jean's calls. Not necessarily because he suspected Jean was using Scott's plans - but because he was honestly questioning the calls. And for the first time, with the filter of Jean between them, Scott could more objectively listen to what Logan was saying. Maybe because he didn't have the pressure of digging through the options himself while being in the thick of it.

On its own - that could have really helped things if not for the fact that as soon as practice was over, Scott caught it out of the corner of his field of vision when Logan gave K a long kiss and started off at a jog with Hank right behind him. "Damnit," Scott breathed out, knowing perfectly well that the two of them were headed to the Avengers.

 _I take it you haven't talked to him yet, then?_ Jean projected to Scott.

_Yes. Well - No. I thought I'd have time after this, to be honest. We got cut off before practice._

_So take the time to think over what you want to say. I'm sure he'll be home tonight._

_Right._  Scott let out a breath as he headed to the locker room to clean up, reminding himself that he'd been the one to put off this talk.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hank and Logan were both a little irritated as they headed to the tower. Neither of them had time to shower or change - and though Hank knew Scott was under the impression that this was for a meeting on the training academy that Steve had decided needed to be built, it was simply  _another_ team practice. It was only unusual in that they almost never happened so close to one another.

But … there was just enough time for the two of them to get there and  _race_ for the simulation room without missing either practice. It was just their luck that both teams were acting as though it was mandatory for them to be there suddenly.

Which, Logan was sure was a load of crap - until they actually got into things. Enough people had been added or rotated into or out of the roster that they actually  _did_ need the work. No one was entirely gelling and it was clear that the group had grown too reliant on one member or another to the point that they weren't functioning. Nothing was as easy as it had been in the past. Even the tag team work Logan was doing with Spider-Man wasn't coming as easily as it usually did, which made Cap's summarization at the end of practice sink in a little more as Peter pulled Logan to his feet from where he'd been slammed into the ground. The Avengers teams  _needed_ a lot more practice together. It didn't  _matter_ what the root cause of it was - the fact was simply that they needed it to work seamlessly. Especially with the trouble they were getting from Hydra.

And when Steve said they were moving up their practices from once a week to three times a week -  _required outside of missions_  - Logan had to agree. That practice was bad enough that he couldn't find an angle to argue it.

"Looks like you and me get to spend a lot more time together,  _eh,_  Wolvie?" Peter said as he draped one arm over Logan's shoulder and leaned into him.

"Get off me," Logan grumbled, shoving Peter back by a few paces.

"See! This is what Cap was talking about - there's a  _dissonance_  here. We have to fix it -but if you're gonna be a jerk, I'll just request a different partner!"

"Go for it," Logan grumbled, more than ready to get a shower and into clean clothes after two practices that had run overly long.

"Oh, come on. You don't  _mean_ that, do you, you hairy, overly-grumpy little weasel?" Peter called out - only to get flipped off by Logan. "Cap! Did you see that?"

"No," Steve said, which only had Peter sputtering as Logan started to head out, but his progress was halted when Steve stepped up next to him.

"We need to sit down and talk about this academy," Steve said.

"Had some plans, Cap."

"Yeah, you two always have 'plans'. You know, Logan - I thought you were on board for this. Weren't you the one telling me how important it was that kids get a fair shot?"

Logan frowned and turned to correct him. "I was talkin' about the mutant kids that get railroaded when they're not shipped off or  _murdered_."

"Right. But you know as well as I do that the best way to protect  _all_ of those kids is to show a bigger mutant presence on the Avengers. Prove to the world that one gene isn't something to be feared," Steve said. "Besides … most of the kids that go through that school of Xavier's end up on the other team. Every year it's looking less and less like a school and more like a training camp."

Logan narrowed his eyes. "That's not the case, Cap. More kids leave that place and go on to just  _live_."

"But self defense is  _required_  for everyone?"

"You bet your ass it is," Logan agreed. "Or did you already forget what it was like to be smaller than everyone around you and pushed around?"

Steve's eyes flashed. "You know that's not the case." As the two of them headed toward the locker room, he tried to steer the conversation back on course. "I thought you said you'd  _help_ me with this."

"I did, and I will," Logan said, slowing to a stop. "But I have other things I need to do, too."

"So bring the family  _with_ next time," Steve said with a smile. "I think I'd like K's outlook on some of this too."

Logan nodded to himself, but didn't say anything. Not when he still had to sit down and hash out what it was that Steve  _needed_ to get the academy running. "I'll meet you at your desk in ten," he said finally - which earned a broad grin from Steve and a clap on the shoulder.

"Make it fifteen," Steve said. "You're not the only one that needs a rinse-off."

"I wasn't gonna say anything but …."

"I don't think I should take too much to heart considering the source," Steve said.

"That's your call, Cap," Logan said as the two of them went to clean up. It didn't surprise Logan one bit that Steve didn't wait to get started on their chat about the new academy, stating up the chat the moment they were out of the locker room.

* * *

The kids at Xaviers were making up for lost time while the adults buzzed around them. Jean and Scott were always wrapped around each other - when Scott wasn't trying to wait on her hand and foot - but Rachel had quickly learned to stay out of their way when they were doing that, and as her father settled in to a late lunch with her mother, Rachel followed the sounds of children to find her friends.

Abbey was reading a story to Michael and Rose, but James was well away from the group under a tree and laying on his stomach with his chin on his arms. "Wanna play?" Rachel asked as she dropped down to sit next to him.

"Lookit," James said, holding out his hand and showing her his treasures - three four leafed clovers already … and one that had six leaves. "Wanna help?"

Rachel giggled happily to herself and quickly followed suit - copying James by laying on her stomach in the lush clovers, though she wasn't quite as good at counting as James was yet - and in no time, she was picking random three leafed clovers that were just very big and well formed.

But James didn't correct her right away, and when they both had a handful of clovers, they retreated deeper into the shade of the tree and started laying the clovers out on their jeans. James scooted closer to her as she happily lined up her prizes, but after a moment, Rachel seemed to realize …  _something_ was a little different. And just about when she did - James picked up one of his clovers to show her what it was.

By the time Scott came out to see how the kids were faring with Kitty, Rachel was counting clover leaves in an easy, metered tone. "One …. Twooooo …. Threeee…. Dat has three. One … twoooo … threeee … dat has three, too!" She made a little sound of irritation and crossed her arms until she saw her father - and then she only just stopped herself from jumping up and rushing to him. She didn't want to mess up her clovers after all. Even if they were only stupid three leaved ones.

Rachel watched Scott closely as he came toward her with a smile, and she was so distracted, she didn't notice when James reached over to put one of his four leafed clovers in her pile.

"You guys looking for lucky clovers?" Scott asked as he first crouched down - then sat down with the two of them, close enough to Rachel that she wouldn't knock over her collection.

"Uh-huh!" she said. "But I - but I - I only gettin' 'toopid  _free leafses._ " She held out a handful of clovers - half of that what she had was grass, too, but Scott wasn't going to correct her. "Three! All three!" She stomped her foot and stuck her bottom lip out in a perfect pout.

Scott let her dump the pile of clovers into his hand and he started combing through them with her. "You have to try to count them before you pick them, sweetheart," Scott said, then couldn't help but smile when he saw how clearly un-mangled the four leafed one was that James had slipped in. "Like this, see? Count with me?"

Rachel's eyes went wide and she gasped softly, nodding as she carefully giggled her way through counting. "One … twooooo ….  _Threeeeee_ … " she paused and gasped again. "Four! Four! Lookit! Four! I gotta four!" She jumped up to her feet, though she almost fell over when she did. Scott handed her the clover and she rushed for the house as quickly as she could- calling for her mother.

Before James could get up, Scott reached over to mess up his hair - not that it wasn't messed up most of the time anyhow - and pulled him over in a one-armed hug. "You're a good kid, you know that?" Scott said as James squirmed to get loose for a moment, though when it was clear that wasn't happening, he relaxed into Scott and tipped his head back to look up at him.

"Hi."

"Hi," Scott replied, unable to stop the smile as James settled in, abandoning his attempt to escape for the time being. Scott sat there with him for a little while as James showed him his clovers, but the  _instant_ that Scott let go of him enough - James was off like a shot. Not … that his little legs could get him far enough fast enough for Scott hot to catch him. Which, of course he did - just as Jean was coming out with Rachel. One second, the two of them were rushing across the lawn - and the next, James was upside down with Scott tickling him - and inadvertently drawing  _all_ the kids away from Kitty to tackle him.

It was exactly what Scott needed to distract him from his concerns about everything else, though even that ended up being fairly short lived.

Dinner time came and went, and though K and the kids were there with the group, Logan and Hank were not. What's more, Hank ended up showing up  _hours_ before Logan did - and with no soothing explanation as to why - only that Steve had more to talk over with Logan than Stark had to discuss with Hank.

"What took Stark so long with  _you_?" Scott asked calmly, since Hank had been an Avenger almost as long as he'd been an X-Man and he  _knew_ Hank would never leave the team. Logan though …

"We were devising a better system to screen aptitude," Hank said. "We'll be testing a few known subjects to see how well the system scores, but I believe we have a superior method than what is already in place."

"In one afternoon."

"Well it  _did_ take longer than we had originally anticipated," Hank said in a teasing tone - which had Scott rolling his eyes with the laugh.

"Of course. What was I thinking. "

"Logan, however," Hank said, pausing for a moment but very sure that he knew what Scott was concerned over. "When last I saw him, he and Captain Rogers seemed to be doing more reminiscing and drinking than they were planning and plotting." When Scott's smile fell, replaced quickly by a locked-jaw expression, Hank tried to smooth it over. "But seeing as I was with Stark for so long, I'm sure that is simply the natural progression after a planning session for the two of them. Considering their long history-"

"Yeah, Hank - I know all about their  _history_."

"Scott," Hank said, half-holding his breath when he saw how irate Scott was. As much as Hank hated to do it … Scott needed someone to step in before things got out of hand. "I know I can't advise you too much on how to deal with the Logan situation, but … if I may give you a word of advice - if you don't want to talk to Logan, or if he's being too vague…"

Scott narrowed his eyes behind his ruby lenses as he waited for Hank to finish.

"... watch K instead," Hank finished, glancing over to where K and Jean were chatting amicably. "She doesn't look like one who has one foot out the door."

"No," Scott said after just a moment. It was clear the two women were getting along well and seeing as Jean had Rose on her lap and K was curled up with Rachel and James … "No, she and the kids look pretty comfortable still."

"And I'd imagine that won't change unless someone makes them uncomfortable."

Scott nodded to himself. "Right." He nodded a few more times as he watched Jean laughing at something K was telling her. "Those kids don't look like they got enough dessert."

Hank smirked to himself and shook his head as Scott headed over to get snacks for the group - emphasized by the fact that Abbey was insisting they watch a movie now that dinner was over. "I didn't mean to bribe the children."

"I'm getting caramel corn for the ladies, too," Scott defended, which only had Hank laughing harder.

* * *

As it turned out, Logan and Steve had stayed up well past midnight drinking, and when Logan came in, it was to find  _most_ of his family already curled up and asleep.  _Most_ of them.

"You really do like stirring up trouble, don't you?" K asked as she stretched out in the middle of their bed - obviously not intending on moving one way or another for him.

"It's not that bad," Logan said, smiling to himself as he tried to find the right angle of attack that wouldn't end with him getting launched across the room. She wasn't mad … but she did have a look of pure troublemaking that he knew well. He just really didn't want to wake up the kids -  _or_ the Summerses. "Sounds like he just wants someone to get 'em started - run an assessment, let them take over from there."

K smiled crookedly and shook her head slowly. "I call bullshit," she crooned in a low, smoky tone as Logan paused at the edge of the bed to see if K was going to attack.

"Yeah, me too, but it sounded like it was more than just kids."

"Oh?"

She still hadn't launched herself at him, so he kept moving a little closer. Better for quiet conversation anyhow. "Yeah, Carol was in agreement … half the team could use a tune up or better."

"Good thing Carol's there to do it."

"She said she don't have the time."

At that K stopped outright and pushed him back with her hand in the center of his chest. "You're trying to be funny, right?"

Logan frowned. "No …"

"Sweetheart ..." K let out a breath as she sat more upright making it crystal clear that whatever game Logan thought he was in for was  _over_. "You … are on more teams than anyone else, and you have a family to contend with."

He frowned and tipped his chin down. "It's just short-term," Logan said in a soft purr.

"We'll see about that."

"It is," he insisted. "Just want to get him up on his feet with this thing - and if it works like it  _should_ , then we might just have our load lightened a little with the influx of kids."

"Oh …" K said, letting her shoulders settle as she let her breath out, all doe-eyed and breathy. "I never had you pegged for a  _delusional_ optimist."

"Take it back." Logan blinked at her for just a moment as she smiled wider before he lunged forward and K bit her lip trying to keep from laughing outright at him as he tackled her back into the pillows.


	4. Competition

The following morning, Logan and K gathered up their little group and headed to coffee and breakfast as early as they always did - they were the first ones up more often than not. By the time the coffee was done, all three kids had their breakfasts in front of them and the two adults were starting to truly wake up the rest of the way.

So no one else was around as K and Logan read their paper and sipped coffee as the Howlett kids woke up. And no one was around to hear it when Logan tried to casually follow Cap's half-hearted suggestion. "You should come in with me to the tower," Logan said in an even tone.

"Is it that bad for all you guys when Carol leaves for ten minutes that you need me to go in and help you feel better?"

Logan snorted to himself at that. "Yeah. Spidey won't shut the hell up for five minutes and thinks I'm welcoming suggestions."

"And my presence will stop that  _how_?" K asked with a laugh as she reached over to steal his coffee.

"It won't stop it, but it'd make it more tolerable for  _me_ ," he replied with a crooked, muted smile. Instead of trying to get his mug back, he pulled her closer so he could kiss her.

"On that front, sure. But I don't think you're considering everything else."

"Wouldn't hurt to give it a shot. Might get a couple of the worst offenders off your back."

K raised an eyebrow as she watched him. "Alright. Sure. I'll go ahead and prove to you how wrong you are. What about the kids?"

"Kurt's supposed to be here this morning. He's still tryin' to guilt trip me on not namin' him godfather for all of 'em." He shifted how he was holding her to start trailing kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "And if you don't want to wait that long, we can take 'em with. Jan'd be happy to spend a little time with 'em."

"And the Summers?" K asked, though she was starting to lean back into him, distracted easily enough.

"Jeannie should have some time to relax. For the next few weeks anyhow. Let her get past the nerves." Logan was smiling into her hair. "And Scott's enjoin' a little time just the three of them, I'll bet."

And though that much was true, Logan had K distracted enough that she wasn't focusing hard enough to lay out how sticking around would  _help_ Jean and Scott to relax. He was playing dirty and she knew it.

 _Bamf_.

"Oh, pardon me for interrupting," Kurt said, his tone pure amusement as his accent curled thickly around his words. "Had I known you were working negotiations for my next assignment as Godfather, I would have given you another hour."

K glanced up with a growl, but Kurt only grinned wider. "Two perhaps then?" he teased.

As K drew in a breath, her mouth opening to dress him down, Logan cut in. "Funny you should mention that," Logan said, finally drawing back from distracting K. "We can't possibly consider you for that any time soon." Before K could turn her anger to Logan, he gave her a look and covered her mouth with one hand just long enough for her to push his hand away.

But the damage was done. Kurt looked back at his best friend looking supremely insulted. "What?" He rested his hand over his heart. "Clearly, I am the  _best_ possible option. You must have been compromised at some point to think anything else." He turned to look over his shoulder, his tail twitching irritably behind him as he looked around the room. "Where is Jean? She'll unscramble your addled mind and set you  _right_  again,  _mein Freund._ "

"Not necessary," Logan laughed, though now K was watching Logan suspiciously - hackles raised. "But if you want consideration, all you gotta do is spend some time with the three of 'em."

Kurt paused, though he did not relax as he slowly turned back to Logan with a perfectly blank expression - save the single raised eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"It is."

"Then you're telling me that there is reason to watch for another baby?"

"Sure is," Logan said, smirking as K's eyes widened.

With a grin, Kurt teleported over to wrap K up in a tight hug - and entirely missed the look of sheer triumph that Logan was giving K, though to her credit, she didn't know if he was screwing with Kurt - or screwing with her. She was frowning at Logan over Kurt's shoulder as he grinned and Kurt practically sung out blessings in German. All while K lightly patted his shoulder. "Please stop that," she said, earning a boisterous laugh from Kurt before he held her at arms length and then kissed her cheek.

"Of course I'll watch them for you," he said, the smile threatening to break his face in half. "And where is it you two are headed off to?"

"Had to spend a little time with Steve and Spidey," Logan said.

"Ah, yes. They should be second to know," Kurt agreed. "Let them come to terms with how little time you'll be wasting with the Avengers from here on out."

Logan gave Kurt a dry look, but K grinned. "Just for that, you are absolutely 100% the only choice for Godfather."

"As if anyone else could come close," Kurt scoffed, then paused before he turned to the three Howlett kids playing nearby. "I'll take good care of them."

"Of course you will," Logan agreed before he got to his feet and clapped a hand on Kurt's shoulder. A moment later, he was wrapped up in a hug as Kurt showered Logan in congratulations - and Logan made sure to tell him to keep quiet.

K still didn't know if Logan was serious or not though, and when he pulled her over by the waist, she very nearly shoved his hands off of her. She didn't  _feel_ different. But she  _had_ cried for Jean when she found out that  _she_ was expecting. And that wasn't normal for her. So she wasn't quite sure what to make of any of it as the two of them headed for Logan's Jeep.

They were halfway to the city before K had to turn the music down. "You  _were_ talking about Jean, right?" K asked. "I don't have to …. I don't know. Plan out your funeral before I kill you, right?"

Logan couldn't help himself but to smile her way. "Why? You thinkin' about another one?"

"Logan."

"I wasn't talkin' about you, sweetheart," he said, one hand over his heart. "If you were pregnant, I wouldn't tell you over coffee. I'd tell you in bed, where I had you to myself."

"And you're going to let him think that I am until  _when_?"

"Probably until Jean and Scott announce it," Logan laughed. "I never said it was you. You never said it was you. Let him rile himself up."

K let out a breath of relief and leaned back into her chair, watching the scenery pass them as they drew closer to the city. "He's going to get you back."

"Eventually," Logan agreed.

"You better hope he doesn't mislead anyone else," K said warningly. "That is a whole different issue, you know."

"He can keep his mouth shut," Logan said, shaking his head. "He's always been able to keep it quiet when he needs to."

K watched Logan for a moment, though she didn't argue with him on it. Kurt  _could_ keep a secret. If he wanted. She just didn't know that the fuzzy blue elf  _would_ want to keep something of that caliber secret.

* * *

Kurt of course had dove into his duties as temporary care taker of the three Howletts, and after all the build up that Kurt had done over himself … he was finding that he had to work for it. The girls were happy to play however Kurt wanted, but after Kurt had declared himself as a pirate  _so often_ , James had taken it on himself to 'arrest' him.

By any means necessary.

Kurt was in the middle of reading a story to the girls, who were sitting across from him - cross legged on the floor - when James launched himself at Kurt and wrapped himself halfway around his neck in an attempt to take him to the ground. "James!" Kurt exclaimed as he tried to keep from going over all the way, though it was a trick for how much James was fighting him. "What are you doing?"

"PIRATE!" the little boy growled out, shocking Kurt and at least tipping him off to what was happening.

"James, I have always been a pirate," Kurt laughed, twisting to get the little guy off of him. "Why is it a problem now?"

"Pirates are  _bad guys_ , and I'm gonna be a  _good guy_ when I get big -so …" James shrugged then took a running start at him again, though this time, Kurt was ready and scooped him up , tickling him and trying to keep him from  _further_ interrupting story time.

All the screaming and shouts caught Scott's attention as he passed by the room, and he paused in the doorway, smiling to himself at how scrappy James was - and how well the little guy was doing all things considered. "What's going on here?" Scott asked.

"Uncle Scooter!" James gasped. "Help!"

For a moment Kurt looked supremely insulted all over again and he paused long enough to give James such a  _look_ before he held him tightly and teleported across the room - earning a peal of fresh laughter. "You are mistaken, little one," Kurt said. " _I_ am your uncle. He's just your Scooter."

"Nuh-uh," James sang out, grinning up at Kurt. "You're a  _pirate_ and he's my uncle."

Kurt's tail flicked irritably as he looked over at Scott. "Then I have bad news for you, my young friend because," he said, shifting James in his arms so that he was facing Scott and Kurt was talking over his shoulder. "Scott here is the  _son of a space pirate_." Kurt's tone was one of pure triumph, sure that he'd turned the tables on James' streak of favoritism if he was going against pirates.

"Nope," James said - pure confidence in his voice. "He's not a pirate."

Scott started to grin, especially since James' expression was exactly the same as Logan's when he was flat out refusing to listen to anyone else's logic.

"He is," Kurt insisted. "His father is a space pirate named Corsair."

"We-llllll," James drew out. "That's not Uncle Scooter. That's someone else. Uncle Scooter isn't a ' _pace pirate._ That's just  _dumb_."

Scott broke down laughing openly at that, particularly the expression on Kurt's face when he finally sighed and set the boy down, allowing him to run over to Scott with a grin that Scott rewarded quickly. He threw James in the air a few times before he set him down to run laps around the room, and only then did he finally ask: "Where's Logan and K? If you're babysitting."

"He had to go to the tower," Kurt said with a weary laugh as he slumped into a seat. The girls had gotten tired of waiting for a story and had moved on to coloring by the window by that time. "He brought K with him." Kurt grinned wider. "He had her distracted to the point that she wasn't even teasing anyone. I don't think she managed a sentence the whole time we spoke."

Scott looked mildly surprised at hearing that, filing it away for the time being.

"They'll be home later tonight, but until then … I'll have to deal with our Wolverine's backward thinking little privateer," Kurt teased with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

"I can take the girls to play with Rachel," Scott offered. "She's a little lonely without them anyhow."

Kurt's shoulders drooped for an instant before he turned back to Scott - losing track of James as he giggled and looked for a good place to ambush the dread pirate bluetail. "I hate to ignore them, fearless. If it would be easier on  _you_ , feel free to bring Rachel to play with us here. I'm sure she's got the good sense to appreciate a proper pirate."

Scott smirked and shook his head. "Let's hope not," he said before he called the girls over to join him and Rachel … just about the time James leapt from the couch to attack Kurt - startling him enough to get a loud 'eep' and Kurt's tail stuck straight out.

But as funny as all of that was to Scott - including the dressing down Kurt tried to give James as he belly laughed, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on up at the tower with the Avengers … and why K would be going with Logan for this run. Unless it had anything to do with Logan honestly looking at slipping  _further_ into the Avengers.

Not that he could worry about that too much when he clearly had three little girls insisting on him playing with them - to Jean's obvious delight.

* * *

When Logan and K got to the tower - only to enjoy a little private makeout session in the elevator to the top floor - she honestly wasn't expecting much of a welcome. So it ended up being a lot more confusing than she'd signed up for when it wasn't  _just_ the usual song and dance that went hand in hand with a non-member hero visiting. In fact … if K didn't know any better, she'd have thought her beloved husband had just brought her in to  _recruit_ her.

"We've been  _so_ sadly misbalanced too far into the testosterone leagues for far too long," Natasha said as she met up with Logan and K shortly after they stepped off the elevator. "Come on, we're starting up a sim - just the girls while the boys try to figure out what this school is going to need."

"I didn't come here to run a sim," K said, frowning at her. She and Natasha had barely had more than a few sentences between them since the run-in with the Hulk back when K was expecting Abbey. This … was more than Natasha had said to her … ever.

The little redhead paused and tipped her head quizzically. "Are you going to argue with me, Carol, Janet,  _and_ the boys that wanted you to come and play?"

"I thought I was just coming to keep my sweetheart company." K was frowning deeper as Logan leaned over to kiss her temple and Natasha looked as though the argument was decided.

"Humor them for me," Logan said at a level only K could hear, though Natasha had no trouble reading his lips and shooting a glare his way.

"You're going to owe me one," K warned. "Big time."

"What else is new?" Logan replied, then took a moment to kiss her while Natasha crossed her arms and looked as though this was trying her very last nerve.

" _Malen'kiy dyadya,_ " Natasha quietly said, though Logan ignored her for a moment longer. "Cap's got some blueprints he wanted you to weigh in on."

"That's not my kinda thing, princess," Logan said.

"Still. They want you involved."

"They?"

"Stark is pushing for what  _he_ thinks is needed. Cap wants to rein him in."

"Ah," Logan said, letting his chin fall to his chest. "Got it. But if you wanted someone to hit Stark, shouldn't it be my sweetheart?" he teased, which at least got a crooked smile out of Natasha.

"Long term, yes, but in order to really blow his mind … I'm taking her with me. You go and do what you can. We'll be working while you boys have your tea party." K glanced back at Logan as Natasha pulled her along. "It's severely overdue for you and I to have some shared time in the simulator anyhow," Natasha informed her once they were out of easy earshot - though not far enough that Logan  _missed it_.

He frowned deeper as he watched the two women disappear. He didn't  _like_ the idea of two of his favorite women getting into a contest for several reasons. The fact that he wasn't sure how much Natasha trusted K didn't help matters - even if she had married Logan and had kids with him that so far, everyone that met them had adored them. Those two had too much history from  _before_ between them and too much of that had been with one side or the other pitting the two women against each other. And in spite of the fact that both of them were working for the same side, there  _was_ a low-key attitude from both of them that exuded a challenge. It was a mark of how much K had gotten to Natasha that she even reacted. It wasn't as surprising to see it from K, however. Not when every step Logan knew she'd taken had been a  _push_ to make her prove herself. Body language-wise, she seemed perfectly at ease, but the scent was the little tipoff to Logan that said how much K was expecting the Avengers or the X-Men to push her into something she really didn't want to do.

Which meant this little pow wow with Cap and Stark had to be short. He did  _not_ want to leave his wife hanging with every woman on the Avengers who had been pressing her to switch teams  _anyhow_.

When Logan turned the corner into the board room where Tony and Steve were, it was clear that Natasha was spot on in her estimation of what the two of them were up to. Tony had it in his mind to do  _more_ technologically advanced improvements while Steve thought it best to keep it as down to earth as possible. Which made it so much harder for Logan to step in and say his piece once both of them pressed for his thoughts.

"As much as it pains me to say it," Logan said, shaking his head at the layouts both had stretched out - Steve's on paper and Tony's floating over it on the holo table - "Stark's got the right idea."

"Ha!"

"Whatever tech these kids run into is gonna be more than what we have to work with now. Best to get them up to speed on everything you can," Logan said, and when Tony looked overly smug, he had to add: "But you need the low tech too. Last thing you want is a buncha kids with no sense if they don't have a screen in front of 'em."

"That's strictly an opinion," Tony said with a wave, but Steve grabbed onto the point with both hands.

"I'll bet you can't make it through a sim without relying on your tech," he said. "Bet you haven't even tried it have you?"

"I don't  _need_ to," Tony said, doing his best version of insulted and aloof. "That's why I made the armor."

"He's afraid," Steve said to Logan as the two of them stood there with their arms crossed with identical amused expressions with Logan agreeing with a muted 'mmhmm'.

"Of  _what_?" Tony argued.

Logan and Steve shared a look. "Money where your big mouth is, Stark," Steve said. "Head down to the simulator and take someone on."

"I can hold my own just fine," Tony insisted, though he seemed to be rising to the bait as he led the way down to the simulator, grumbling the whole way.

The two of them shared a look before they started walking behind Tony, and Logan had to tell Steve "I'm not on board for usin' my wife to make a point with  _him_."

"Leave it up to her. It's not like any one of the girls already on the team wouldn't take up the opportunity to slap him around a little," Steve said quietly. "Don't worry about it, Logan."

Logan frowned, and for the first time really rethought how smart it was to ask K along. Tony had a way of irritating her in a very specific way, and generally she tended to ignore him as much as possible.

But there wasn't much that he could do about it when, by the time he and Steve got down to the simulator Tony had already started chatting with K. That on its own would have been worrisome, but when Logan saw that Natasha, Carol,  _and_ Jan were all grinning? "Damnit," Logan breathed out just loud enough for Steve to hear.

"Hey, relax," he said. "She's gonna have to deal with him if she's going to join."

Logan almost did a double take on hearing it. So far, Tony was the one pushing for K to join the team. Steve had been quiet about it. So he had to wonder first and foremost what had  _changed_. And what exactly the Avengers were trying to accomplish by trying to persuade K to join them too.

It was a questionable at the bare minimum and troublesome when he thought about how Mac and Heather had tried the same thing while they were in Canada … only it was mild encouragement for their daughter to try and sway Abbey.

"I need to talk to you about this  _requirement_ of so much time," Logan said before they could step into the group. "It's not gonna work."

"Of course it is," Steve said with a frown. "You'll just need to help me get her on board too. If she and the kids are here with you while it's time to practice, it's not a problem, right?"

"That's not the point," Logan said, stopping Steve from going forward. "I said I'd help you plan out this school. I didn't say I'd do anything beyond that."

"I know," Steve said, looking more authoritative as he squared up. "But it's going to take some time and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to pull you away from your family. Besides." he gestured to where K had her hands on her hips, laughing at Tony's so called 'ready' stance. "It would help keep SHIELD off of her back."

It was like he'd hit just the right button as Logan let out all his breath in a woosh. Fury never had backed off on wanting to 'chat' alone with K. Avengers status  _would_ put a stop to that.

"Has to be her choice," Logan said finally as the two of them joined the team that was lined up along the inside of the simulator.

"Of course," Steve said, frowning at Logan as if he was crazy for suggesting otherwise.

"Hey.  _Hey_ , did you guys bring popcorn?" a voice asked from directly over head and both Logan and Steve looked up to see Spider-Man suspended upside down from a web and looking far too excitable for either of them to tolerate.

"This was your play all along then?" Logan asked as he watched Spidey for a moment.

"It's the right move, Logan," Steve said. "Protect your family by letting us  _help_."

Logan shook his head and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Kick his ass, sweetheart," he called out, which got K to turn and give him a once over as she looked over her shoulder at him.


	5. The Left Doesn't Know And The Right Doesn't Either

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just more building misunderstandings. small amount of suspicious fluff.

You're the one that picked me," K said, crossing her arms over her chest. This was not at all what she was expecting when she agreed to join Logan at the tower. "Don't chicken out before we can even start."

"I'm  _not_ chickening out, sweetheart," Tony said, with his most smug expression, one eyebrow raised as he turned her way. "It's just not fair if you can heal. Too one sided."

"So turn the dampener on," K suggested, uncrossing her arms and relaxing her shoulders as she wore an open, broad smile that she knew would take him off guard. She'd never truly turned up the charm around him  _directly_ after all. And she had yet to see someone ignore it when she did.

"What makes you think we have dampeners in here?" Tony asked - obviously deflecting the question as best he was able.

"They're already on," Jan sang out. "So whenever you're ready, Tony!"

Tony took a quick look around the room, sized up K, and shook his head. "I'm not that stupid. Nope. Not gonna fight you. I'm not the entertainment."

But as half the group let out little noises of disappointment and snickers, K took a few steps toward him. "Why the  _hell_ would I fight you? I thought this was supposed to be a sim, not a schoolyard fight over crayons."

Tony turned toward Steve, but didn't take his eyes off of her. "Then … what do you propose?"

"Start a sim. I'll be your partner for it. If you get into trouble, I'll give you a hand. " she tipped her head for a moment. "Maybe even vice versa."

"I wanna see a fight," Luke said, arms crossed and sounding disappointed already.

"So go see one," K said, barely looking his way. "I was told I was supposed to do some sims with the team. Not …  _fight_."

"What do you think the sims are?" Luke asked, frowning. "It's fighting."

"Maybe for  _Avengers_ ," K said, raising with a teasing smile. "That's just warm ups for the X-Men."

Logan chuckled to himself, but the others looked as if they'd heard the same line one too many times before. "That's right," he said as Steve blew out a breath.

"So it shouldn't be a problem then to just run a sim or two with us," Steve said. "I hope you brought your suit."

"Why? Don't Avengers ever have to deal with trouble when they're not in uniform?" K asked, wearing a wide-eyed expression.

Luke had to laugh at that though - a loud, warm, boisterous sound that brought good cheer to those hearing him. "She's got you there, Cap."

"Dampener's  _on_ ," Steve said. "Might be good for our mutant friends to see how they can stack up to the rest of us."

"You mean the rest of you that are mutates, Inhumans, or injected with super soldier serum?" K asked - earning a bark of a laugh from Tony.

"Oh yeah. My partner today," he said, grinning widely as he made his way over to stand next to K - making the two of them and Logan the only ones that were wearing bluejeans and t-shirts.

"Try not to break anything," K advised, though she did stick close to him as the room shifted and everyone took their places. But that really only meant that Tony and the ferals were the ones out of the power loop. It didn't bother the ferals one bit - mostly because they were  _used_ to practicing with no powers. But Steve didn't know that. Neither did the rest of the Avengers, for that matter, and when the sim came up, Logan and K all but melted into the woodwork operating on pure skill to a degree that those that met up with what they did with their powers  _on_. Being sneaky was something that didn't come with the power set, after all. And it required practice. Something both of them had done for long enough that it was second nature regardless.

It was an interesting simulation: a raid led by AIM that was designed to target Tony. Of course, Tony didn't know that until someone tried to jump him as he walked down the street. The team was standing back - trying to give him a chance to prove that he didn't need the suit - and ready to dive in the instant it looked like Tony needed a save. But he fought the first attacker perfectly well on his own, even showcasing a fairly impressive bit of martial arts training that no one but Steve knew he possessed. He hadn't needed to show it to the others, and Steve had been the one to teach him. But Logan picked up on that quickly.

"When did you teach him that?" Logan asked as they fought a nasty little contingency and watched Tony holding his own in a fight - and further out K was doing well with  _her_ fight too - though Steve wasn't watching  _Tony_.

"He asked me to teach him a few things," Steve said distractedly, catching K as she pulled off a complex and acrobatic disarming-sweep-knock out an a trio of soldiers that was almost too fast to follow. "Hey. Did you show her that move?"

Logan watched K for a moment to see which style she was using at the time, switching for a moment from fighting to simply dodging his opponent. "No. She came with that."

"I didn't know she could do that," he said.

"She knows all kinds of stuff you don't, Cap."

"Yeah. I'm sure she does," he said, almost smiling to himself as he said it.

A short while later as the program progressed, the team ended up being taken out of the fight which in the Avenger's training scenario meant they were standing in a room adjacent to the training room - waiting for the signal for them to go back closer to where Tony was. But since K was his partner, she remained in the room, not  _too_ far away should he need the help. They were fighting the same fight - different opponents, but close enough to help each other if need be. It was the closest thing to an evaluation that Steve could work up to get K to show him what she could do  _away_ from the X-Men's more advanced Danger Room - or in a live mission.

Not to mention that this had been a surprisingly good evaluation for  _Tony_ too. They'd never really talked him into anything without the suit, but if they'd asked Logan or K, either of them could have tipped the rest of the Avengers off as to  _why_ that was if they were approached nicely about it. The answer was simple enough: Tony was honestly  _scared_ of how many ways it could go wrong for him out of the suit. And though he had asked Steve to teach him some self defense that was above the level of what his corporate contacts could give him, he still knew the score.

He wasn't super powered. He didn't have cat-like reflexes or super strength, or  _magic_. What he did have was an incredible mind and a very weak point in the arc reactor lodged in his chest. So it should have come as no surprise when Tony was very carefully - but subtly - guarding his chest. Even favoring that to guarding his head. Even in a simulator the wrong hit without the armor could be devastating.

The problem, of course, was that he'd programmed the computer to adjust for whatever it was that someone was trying to avoid - and attack it. So when the program adjusted and began targeting Tony's  _chest_ , K finally found her way into the fight Tony was waging. She spared his ego by not taking over the fight entirely, but it still  _stung_ to have the tiny currently non-powered feral woman blocking hits meant for him.

What K didn't know though was that the Avenger's androids weren't nearly as advanced as those in the Danger Room. When one slipped around her and nailed Tony with a hit that took his breath away, before anyone could kill the program, K popped her claws and started killing robots. Which won a smile from Tony at the least. "Are you still standing firm on not letting me hire you as a bodyguard?" Tony asked as one of the last robots threw her into him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to help right her.

"Well I mean, if this is all it is, I might consider it. What's the uniform like?" she asked with an ill hidden laugh.

"Not jeans and a tee," he said as the program went into the final stages.

"Is it something my husband would approve of?" K asked as seriously as she could, falling into step next to him instead of trying to cover him.

"Oh, I'm sure he'd like it … just maybe not in public," Tony had to tease, earning a somewhat dry look from her just before he reached over and took a hold of her arm to pull her out of the way from a car that was flying right at her. He yanked her hard enough that she fell over with him, and he surprised her when he made a point to halfway wrap around her to keep her from banging her head. Which was about when K realized how dizzy she was. "Okay, stop the program!" He shook his head and ducked for cover as the program took a little too long to end. "What's  _up_ with him today?" Tony grumbled.

K blinked hard for a few moments, though when she didn't pop right up to her feet, Tony shifted how he was situated to pick up her hands. "Do you  _always_ bleed this much?" he asked with a frown while K's head felt as though it was spinning. She'd been  _fine_ until he pulled her off center.

"Um … if my healing isn't working, yeah. Thought you knew that."

"I didn't know it was this …  _severe_ ," Tony said before he shouted out the override to kill the dampener since for some reason Steve and Natasha seemed to be taking their sweet time setting things straight, though he couldn't understand why  _Logan_ hadn't just gotten down to it to deal with it himself.

Until he saw Logan had managed to take a nasty hit himself on the other side of the simulation room where he'd ended up with Spider-Man. Again.

"It's fine, really. Just your typical Thursday night with our usual crew." K looked over at Logan while her hands and arms protested - pain arcing up her arms even as the buzz that signaled healing kicked up a few notches. "Isn't that right, love?"

"Comparatively? Pretty much," Logan agreed, sparking off the debate freshly on which team took heavier fire and faced nastier foes.

"We handle a broader spectrum of trouble," Luke defended. "It's not like the X-Men and their robot troubles. What kind of person has  _robots_ pissed off at them? How does that even happen? Aren't they programmed?"

"Yeah, to kill people with an active 'x' gene," Logan said seriously.

"He … he has a point," Spider-Man said, flicking a bit of debris off of Logan's shoulder before Logan pushed him away. "I think most of the trouble they have is stuff like that. Not … Hydra takes over the world."

"Nah, we get plenty of that too," Logan disagreed while Tony stayed suspiciously quiet - for K's liking.

"You're awful quiet for a smart guy," she said softly enough that only Tony heard her.

"Logan and I have been on opposite sides of that argument for a while," Tony said simply, though he didn't hold her gaze as he said so. "He and Cap … well. They're just a lot closer in philosophy. I think they're outdated, they disagree."

She allowed the quiet between them to stretch for a moment as she weighed out what it was he was talking about. "It's not outdated to think like they do," K said as they started toward the exit. "I don't think  _anyone_ thinks like  _you_   _do_."

Tony let out a hollow laugh. "You're not going to get started on that whole 'futurist' kick are you?"

She shook her head. "No, but I'm not looking at it like they are. There's value in both of your outlooks, and flaws, too."

"Oh. There are flaws now? What kind of flaws?" Tony asked with a bit more attitude than K thought he  _realized_ he was throwing around.

"I'm not going to try and name specifics," she said as the two of them were the last to leave the simulator. "You have a  _superhuman_ ability to see potential in things, but if you want me to be totally honest, it makes me worry about you. That outlook - the way you think? It can be more shortsighted than you realize."

"If this is about Ult-"

"It's not about Ultron," K said firmly, cutting him off. "And believe it or not, I'm not trying to start a fight  _or a discussion_. I know where you stand on things already. And though there are many arguments you and I could have about that, I'd rather not. I don't like to get political. And that's not the point. You may be a genius in a lot of things, but you see  _potential_ , Tony. Only potential. And sometimes, you miss the point when you do that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked, frowning and quickly losing his previous good cheer.

"It means that sometimes the forest is  _just trees_. Not anything it's capable of making, or what it might build or destroy if it were to  _catch fire_ , and absolutely not any of a million uses for what it's made of. It's just trees. Let it be what it is. Not what you think it  _could_ be, or what you're  _afraid_ it could be."

Tony paused and watched her for a moment. "Believe it or not, I understand  _why_ you and the X-Men are against registration - and as the literature stands right now, It's not right. But you have to admit - there is something to be said for knowing -"

"Tony. We were having a nice moment then you kept talking," K said, cutting across him before she stopped and turned his way. "I gave you a partial evaluation today. That's a big deal for me and you know it. So just … stop. Talking."

"Are the X-Men going to have a problem with us starting up our own school?" Tony asked, stepping closer to her so he could hear her when she invariably replied just as quietly.

"If we did, do you think Logan and Hank would be trying to help you?" K tipped her head to where Steve and Logan had their heads together, and obviously in agreement. "More mutants are being born every day. Inhumans are coming out of the woodwork left and right, and it's a pretty regular thing to find mutates in need of help."

"That doesn't even touch on the alien aspect of things," Tony added as K nodded in agreement.

"Don't have to tell me about that," she said. "We can't handle all that ourselves. Even if Charles wanted to, he doesn't have the  _staff_ to cover everyone that wants help."

"You sayin' you're overrun?"

"I'm saying that we're  _fine_ right now, but I can also see it being an issue down the road. It'll be a year anyhow before you've gotten your school straightened out. It'll take some time for you to gain some  _trust_ from mutants - unless … you're not opening your doors to them."

He let out a breath at that and shook his head before he offered her his arm. "We're not going to exclude."

K paused long enough to consider him then fell into step next to him, delicately resting her hand on his arm - and doing her best to ignore the crooked smile he was wearing. "I hope you stick to that, Tony, because if this school goes forward and I find out you're not treating mutant kids fairly - or diverting them to us without giving them a choice in the matter …"

"Not gonna happen," he swore. "Hey. Where's this threat coming from anyhow? We've got mutants on the team."

"I know," she said.

"Always room for one more."

"Your roster's messy," she said. "You have more members than we do."

"Bigger scale," Tony replied. "Wider focus than just anti-mutant hate crimes."

"Is  _that_ why you don't bother to stoop to such things?" K said, pulling him to a stop so she could look him in the eyes properly. "Genocide beneath your interest?"

And while K and Tony were sniping back and forth, Logan and Steve were going through a slightly more tempered version of the same discussion - though Steve was doing a far better job of keeping the conversation on track and focused on the new Avengers Academy, as it was being called.

"Come on, Logan," Steve said as he led the way. "I want to finalize our plans for classes and I want your input on how to handle mutants that are out of control."

"I don't know what the hell you think I can do to help with that," Logan pointed out. "I've got a  _passive_ mutation. Can't turn it on and off. It's just … what it is."

"Right. And you've never talked a kid down before," Steve replied dryly. "You're going to need to help teach whoever we get on staff to talk kids down and get them to focus."

"You're talkin' to the wrong guy," Logan said. "You want training for that, you need to direct yourself to Cyke and Charlie."

Steve looked irritated for just a second as something flashed behind his eyes. "Are you really going to try and tell me you're just the muscle over there?"

Logan looked up at him with a perfectly blank expression. "What else would I be?"

"I thought you and Scott were running things," Steve said, shaking his head at his old friend. "If you're just … why'd you agree to help?"

"Charlie's still the one running things," Logan said, smirking to himself. "And … I was told that when  _Captain America_ asks you to do something, you make a point to try an' do it."

Steve looked as if that was the very last answer he wanted to hear. "Thank you, for that. I'll keep that in mind." As Logan chuckled at Steve, the two of them finally go down to  _work_. There was a lot to be done, and the fact that the Avengers weren't being shy about asking for help seemed like enough on its own for Logan to pay attention to. Besides, if he played his cards right, it might be a good way to make  _sure_ the Avengers were on board with Charles' dream and how to make it happen.

* * *

For as exhaustive as it had been for Scott to worry himself over everything going on, he had to admit to himself that James really had a solid way of defusing him. The kid was shameless in his affection - and his favoritism, even so far as pushing Jean's hand away from himself as he insisted that Scott keep track of him.

"I have to talk to the professor, bud," Scott told him, trying to ease James over to Jean - who really wanted nothing more than some sweet little boy snuggles.

"Me too," James decided, holding on tighter and  _giggling_ like a little gremlin when Jean let out a noise that conveyed exactly how betrayed she was at his clear dismissal.

"Don't you want to help Jean?" Scott prompted, trying to appeal to his tendency to  _help_. Even if he was grinning at Jean over James' shoulder.

"Nope," James replied, doubling down on how tightly he was holding on to Scott.

 _Just … go. With your little troublemaker_ , Jean projected to Scott, though he didn't miss the tone of hurt in her voice at James' sudden and  _complete_ betrayal.

_Maybe he thinks the Phoenix is a -_

_Don't you even_ think  _it, Mr. Summers._

_-parrot for a space pirate._

She let out a scoffing noise from the very back of her throat before she shoved him away, all while Scott was grinning widely at her. "Have fun with Charles," Jean said. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me, James? We can go to the pool."

 _Cheater_ , Scott projected as James lifted up his head to consider Jean.

"Are you gonna talk about my Dad?" James asked, after he'd blinked a few times.

Jean looked perfectly shocked and Scott did his best to keep his expression in check. "Why would I talk about your Dad?" Scott asked.

James shrugged, but didn't make a move to either hold on tighter again or to go to Jean.

Scott let out a sigh and pulled James in to kiss the side of his head and hold onto him better. "Why don't you come with me if you're worried."

"Okay," James agreed, leaving Jean watching both of them cautiously.

_He doesn't know what's going on, Scott. He just knows you're tense around him._

_I wasn't worried about_ that, Scott projected back to her as he took his time going to talk to Charles. It was a concern, of course, that the kids would get caught up in the middle, but Scott really didn't want James to think something was wrong when so far, there really  _wasn't_  anything happening. And with all the girls in the house, once things leveled out with Jean, he didn't want James thinking he didn't have someone in his corner.

Regardless of what was happening or not happening with the Avengers, Scott wasn't going to let James feel for one second like he wasn't loved and a part of the group. He didn't even realize what he was doing, exactly, until Charles reached out to him.  _I can't imagine that you've found yourself lost here, after all this time. I know we've rebuilt from time to time, but you've never been lost before, my boy._

Scott smiled to himself as he set James down near the lake. His feet had directed them on their own while Scott was lost in thought.

"What are we doing?" James asked, looking up at Scott even as he crouched down.

"I think we can spend some time playing, don't you?"

James looked out at the water and then back at Scott. "Fishin'?"

"Sure, we can fish." He offered James his hand and the two of them started toward the boathouse before Scott projected back to Charles.  _I know you wanted to do some planning before classes got underway, but …_

 _There's no rush, Scott,_ Charles said - his mental voice dancing with pride and amusement.  _I may just come to you. There may be something to your concerns over the Avengers. I just don't know what the trouble is yet._

 _Take your time, professor,_ Scott replied.  _I think James really is sick of playing with the other kids. He's had no patience for his sisters, and Michael has been reluctant to step away from his mother._

 _Another little one who wants to soothe the people he loves_ , Charles replied.  _Enjoy your Godson, Scott. I'll see if I can make contact with K or Logan._

Scott smiled to himself. It wasn't much, but it would help him to plan for whatever might be on the horizon if he could just know what the ferals were thinking …. He could plan for whatever eventualities were around the corner. He thought.


End file.
